Hostages
by CD57
Summary: A perp is causing lots of trouble inside MDPD headquarters COMPLETE
1. Trouble, with a capital T

TITLE: **Hostages**

AUTHOR: CD57

CATEGORY: Action/Adventure, Angst.

SUMMARY: A perp is causing lots of trouble inside MDPD headquarters

SPOILERS: None

SEASON: Somewhere in season one. No Yelina, lots of Frank, though. I like him, grin.

RATING: PG.

PAIRING: awww… H/C UST. I suck at romance, though

CONTENT WARNINGS: None, really.

DISCLAIMER: oh I don't own them. I wouldn't know where to store them anyway, so... This story-line is mine, though, as are the characters I made up for this.

FEEDBACK: please, yes. I love to hear what you think. No flames, though. I can burn my own toast, thanx.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is my second CSI Miami story. I really enjoyed writing the first so I couldn't resist writing another. Enjoy.

Thanx for JennyF for helping out with grammar and such.

Thanx to Pheral, my wonderful friend, always for the beta job, but more importantly, for being who you are: The Best!

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**Part 1 – Trouble, with a capital T.**

"Do you know what this is?" the suspect asked, his dark brown eyes shifting from one criminalist to the other. In his hand he had a small black plastic device, with an antenna and a round, red button.

Tim Speedle and Eric Delko exchanged surprised looks.

"Why don't you tell us?" Speed asked, shrugging his shoulders.

An evil smile appeared on Keith Reynolds's face. "There's a bomb in this building."

Eric smiled. "Sure, Keith."

"You expect us to believe that?" Speed joined in, adjusting to the same attitude as his colleague.

"Can you afford not to?" Keith demanded, as he slowly placed his thumb on the red button of the remote control. "I want you to drop all charges against me, and all evidence will have to be destroyed. Only then I'll tell you where the bomb is."

"Are you gonna blow yourself up for this?" Eric asked, trying to determine the seriousness of the situation.

"No, it's not strong enough to blow up the whole fucking building," Keith said. He threw a quick look over his shoulder into the direction of the labs. "But I'm pretty sure that cute blonde won't survive."

This time, the two crime scene detectives exchanged more concerned looks. Speed drew out his phone.

"Ah!" Keith snapped. "Don't, or she's the first to die."

Eric's mind raced. What if this perp was telling the truth? Calleigh was in the lab, which meant the bomb had to be there somewhere. How would they manage to get her out of there? How would they manage to alert Horatio, who's office was situated almost straight above the lab? Would they be able to signal him without being caught?

Speed apparently was asking himself similar questions. He slowly stuffed the phone away in his pocket, not wanting to provoke an outcome that was clearly in their disadvantage.

"Let's go, nice and slowly, and see how your lovely colleague is doing, shall we?" Keith rose to his feet, pushing the chair back as he stretched his muscles.

Eric shrugged helplessly at Speed. At that moment, without a way of knowing how serious their situation was, it was best to play along.

"And don't even think of alerting other people," Keith threatened, waving the RC in front of Speed's nose. "Or your female colleague is history, comprendre?"

"All right," Speed nodded in understanding, as he also slowly got up. Eric silently followed his example.

"Let's go. No tricks, remember?" the man with pitch black hair reminded them.

The two CSI members with the suspect in their middle walked through the hallway towards the lab. Eric and Speed were both tensed, worried about what would happen if they would meet anybody in the hallway, starting to ask all kinds of questions.

Speed wondered what they would find in the lab. For a brief moment, he hoped Calleigh wouldn't even be there. He hoped she'd gone to the shooting hall, testing a gun for a case she was working on.

She wasn't.

When they entered the lab, they found her, sitting on a chair, quietly talking to Alexx Woods, the coroner of the MD police department. "Hi, guys," Calleigh greeted them, having noticed their entrance.

Alexx Woods now also looked at the door and she frowned at the sight of the unknown man entering the lab along with her colleagues.

"Close the door," Keith sharply ordered, nodding at Speed. He then turned his head, facing the two women. He caught Calleigh's gaze. "And you better stay right where you are, missy. You're sitting on a bomb."

Calleigh's eyes went wide with surprise and shock. Speed reluctantly closed the door, while Alexx immediately bent forward to check the chair Calleigh was sitting on. "Oh, baby," she muttered, when her eyes spotted the explosives taped underneath the chair. "You better don't move."

Calleigh's gaze now traveled back to her friend. "Alexx?" she asked anxiously. "You're kidding, right?"

Alexx slowly shook her head, then gently placed a hand on Calleigh's shoulder. "Oh, no. Sit still, honey."

Keith made a gesture with his head towards the two male detectives. Eric and Speed didn't waste any time, understanding they were to move further ahead, to the other side of the lab. The attacker had assumed a position from where he could keep an eye on the men and women.

"Okay," Keith continued, his voice sharp and icy. "Guns on the table. Slowly. You first," he eyed Speed, and held the RC in everybody's view, daring anybody to try something stupid.

Tim raised one hand in the air, showing he wasn't going to do anything. Slowly and carefully he moved his other hand, took his gun out of the holster and placed it on the table. He then stepped back, away from the table.

Keith moved forward, and reached out with his free hand to grab the gun. His eyes momentarily directed at the gun, he fumbled one-handedly with the safety pin.

Although he was positioned at least a couple of steps away from Keith, Eric used that moment to lurch forward, taking the attacker completely by surprise. His aim was to knock the perp down and get a hold of the remote control.

Keith was extremely quick, though. He jumped backwards, in a desperate but successful attempt to stay out of Eric's reach. Still keeping a hold on the remote, he apparently had managed to remove the safety of the gun. Before he even landed solidly on his feet, he had aimed the weapon and fired one shot.

Calleigh cried out Eric's name.

Eric, stumbling from grabbing in the air where his target had been mere seconds ago, dodged sideways. Unfortunately, the movement wasn't fast enough to completely stay out of the line of fire. The bullet slammed into his right upper arm, pivoting his body from the sudden impact.

"Don't ever try something like that again," Keith snapped angrily.

Panting, Eric staggered against the desk. Alexx had moved toward Tim and held her hand on his shoulder, keeping him from doing anything stupid.

Eric, grimacing, pressed his left hand over the now bleeding arm. He slid to the floor and sat there, panting.

The door to the lab burst open. Lieutenant Horatio Caine appeared in the doorway, his weapon in one hand, the other arm supporting the one holding it. Legs slightly spread, Caine stood steadily, his gun aimed at the black haired attacker. His eyes thoroughly scanned the lab as he tried to determine what he was facing.

Calleigh looked at him, frightened.

Keith, who immediately had stepped behind the female CSI detective, held both the RC and gun in view. "Drop the gun, mister."

"You know, I cannot do that," Horatio said with a calm, steady voice. Having surveyed his surroundings, he knew the man standing behind Calleigh was the only hostile. "So why don't you lower yours nice and easy before this gets out of hand, all right?"

"I don't think so," Keith sneered. "You see, this lady over here is sitting on a bomb and unless you are doing exactly as I say, I'm going to blow her to hell."

Horatio's eyes again traveled from one member of his team to the other. He saw Eric, with an obvious injured, bleeding arm sagged against one of the desks. He hadn't failed to notice the look of panic on Calleigh's face and then saw Alexx giving him an affirmative nod, telling him the man was indeed telling the truth.

"All right," Horatio nodded slowly but without lowering his gun. "Are there more bombs in the building?"

Keith shook his head.

"All right. Here's what I'm going to do," Caine said, his voice even and calm. "I'm going to order the officers behind me to stand down and evacuate the building. Can I do that?"

"As long as you stay where you are and don't do anything stupid," Keith agreed. To emphasize his statement he simply placed the gun at Calleigh's temple.

"Frank," Horatio didn't move, kept his eyes locked on the perp and called over his shoulder. "Frank, we have a bomb in the lab. I want you to clear the building, right now." He waited, and then briefly looked over his shoulder before turning his gaze back to the attacker standing behind Calleigh. With a still steady and controlled voice he continued. "They're going to evacuate the building. I'm coming inside now."

"Drop the gun first," Keith ordered, motioning with Speed's gun at the crime lab Lieutenant.

Slowly, Horatio put the safety back on, and bent down carefully, one arm raised above his head. With the other he slowly placed the gun on the floor and shoved it backwards. "I'm going to close the door now, all right?"

The attacker nodded and with one hand still holding the RC he carefully followed the red-haired man's movements, like a feline following its prey.


	2. Evacuating MDPD

**Part 2 - Evacuating MDPD.**

Detective Frank Tripp stood in the hallway outside the lab, his weapon still in his hand. He had just walked out of the elevator onto the floor, when he'd heard the gunshot. He'd found Horatio already standing in the doorway, weapon drawn, trained on an assailant Frank couldn't see from where he was standing. He'd waited for Horatio's cue with his weapon pointed at the floor, but there'd been none. Instead, Horatio had informed him about a bomb inside the lab and had ordered him to evacuate the building. Next, his friend had bent down, placing his firearm on the floor and had just pushed it back, out into the hallway. Before Frank had been able to get a look in the room, Horatio had stepped inside and the door had been closed.

The shades for all the windows into the room were down, obscuring his view, leaving him cursing quietly to himself at not being able to see what was going on.

The officers and detectives who had responded to the situation were looking at him for direction, as he was the most senior ranking officer present.

After mumbling a few more inaudible curses about Horatio entering the lab Tripp slowly lowered his gun, setting the safety and placed it back in its holster. The waiting officers and detectives followed suite shortly after.

"Okay," the senior detective spoke up, while he bent down to carefully pick up the weapon Horatio had left on the floor. "Lieutenant Caine said there's a bomb in the lab. This means we're going to have to evacuate the building. I'm going to inform the Chief, he'll have to give the order for the evacuation. I want you to go ahead and inform the personnel closest to the lab. Remind them of the proper bomb threat instructions."

"Yes, sir," said one of the police officers standing next to Tripp. "Leave all open doors and windows open. No saving of computer documents, no use of cell phones, walkie-talkies…"

Tripp smiled thankfully. "Exactly. Everybody keeps his hands off all electrical appliances. Go. We'll meet outside at the assembly point."

With a final nod he left, confident his fellow police officers knew how to follow procedure. It was well-practiced after all.

Taking the stairs two steps at a time, he bounded up the two floors, quickly reaching the fourth. He knocked on the door of the Chief of Police, Captain Gerard Jackson.

"Come in," the low, somewhat dark voice of Jackson called.

Frank opened the door and stepped inside of the office, closing the door behind him. "Sir, we have a situation," he started to explain.

"What is it?" Jackson asked. He was a man of few words, always getting straight to the point and he expected others to do the same. He had an uncanny ability to read people and estimating their possibilities was one of his strongest qualities. He knew if they were being truthful or deceptive almost instantly. Years of experience in the field followed by his time as the head of internal affairs had taught him well.

"There was a shot fired in the fingerprint lab. Lt. Caine was first on the scene. He indicated that there is a bomb inside the lab and ordered me to start evacuating the building."

"All right," Jackson said, a worried frown etched on his face. "Do we know who is currently inside the lab?"

"Lt. Caine and an unknown suspect at the least. I can't say with any certainty who else may be inside. It could be detective Delko or Speedle, and probably detective Duquesne. We'll have to check the records."

"So we not only have a bomb threat, but a hostage situation on our hands as well," the Captain concluded. "Okay, I want you to take the lead as Operations Supervisor," Jackson decided quickly and got up, rolling his shoulders.

"Sir?" Tripp asked in surprise. "What about Philips?"

"He's out of town, Tripp. Can you handle it?" Jackson glanced questioningly at the detective.

"Yes, sir," Frank nodded without hesitation.

"Good," the Captain said. He reached for the phone on his desk. "Let's see how we handle a real-time evacuation. We did enough trial runs and drills, everyone could practically get out in their sleep." Punching in the number of his facility supervisor, Jackson waited for the man to answer the call. "D'Antoni, this is Captain Jackson. We have a situation here. There's a bomb located in the CSI fingerprint lab. I want you to start the evacuation procedure but don't, I repeat don't go near that lab… What?"

Jackson listened to what the other man was saying, then briefly rolled his eyes. "Yes, there are still people in that lab. I am aware of that. Listen, this is NOT a drill. Philips is out of town, so detective Tripp will be the Operations Supervisor. Got that? Now get started. Tripp will meet you in the main lobby." Slamming the receiver back on the hook, the Chief grabbed his jacket and slid it over his shoulders.

Tripp was looking outside the window, and pointed. "I suggest we set up our command center on the northeast quadrant of the parking lot, sir. That should give us enough clearance. We don't know how big the explosions are, so I also recommend clearing an immediate area of 2000 feet…"

Jackson quickly cut him off, giving him a nod. "Get to it, Tripp. I'll see you down there." He headed for the door. "I'm going to get you your command center and then I'll have to go and inform the mayor. When I get back, I want to know who our gunman is, who the hostages are and how the hell somebody managed to sneak a bomb into my building."

"Yes, sir," Tripp pulled the phone closer, watched the boss leave then dialed the bomb squad. "This is Detective Tripp from MDPD," he announced. "We have a bomb in the building… No, we don't have any information on that yet… Captain Jackson has implemented evacuation procedures. Lieutenant Philips is unavailable, so he has appointed me Operations Supervisor… All right. Yes, we also have a hostage situation… I know. So you're sending a team, can you also get me the Fire and Rescue units? Okay… Sergeant Orrick will be the senior bomb technician in charge? All right. I'll be expecting him. Thank you."

With the first necessary steps taken, Frank left the office and noticed the fourth floor was already empty except for the floor manager, who stood waiting for him. Together, they took the stairs down.

On the first floor, Tripp ran into D'Antoni. The facility manager was busy coordinating the evacuation of the remaining personnel, giving instructions to the floor managers and keeping an eye on things.

D'Antoni gave a thumb up to Tripp, indicating that the evacuation was going according plan.

"Marcus, we're going to set up a command center just behind the parking lots," Frank informed the man, pointing in the general direction. "The bomb squad is on its way, as are the paramedics and the fire unit. I need the blue-prints of the building…"

"You'll get them," D'Antoni said with a nod.

"Do we have surveillance tapes? Is the system still running?" Tripp asked. "We need to know how the explosives got into the building in the first place."

"I'll get you the finished tapes. If nobody has sabotaged it, the system should still be online. Depending on what the bomb technician says, we might be able to patch right into the system. Hopefully we can get into the security cameras and get a look at what's going on in the lab," D'Antoni told him.

"Good job," Frank complimented the man. "I'll see you outside. Oh, and I need to know who's in that lab, pronto."

"We're working on the personnel list, so I'm onto it," D'Antoni called over his shoulder, already rushing off to arrange everything.

Frank smiled, knowing he could count on the other man, then took the final steps downstairs and left the building.


	3. What's going on inside the lab?

**Part 3 – What's going on inside the lab?**

Horatio slowly closed the door behind him and took one small step forward, his hands still slightly raised. "Alexx," he said, his eyes never leaving the man holding the remote and gun. "Alexx, why don't you apply a bandage to Eric's arm? We don't want him to bleed to death, do we?"

When he noticed that their captor didn't object, Horatio gave a slight encouraging nod into the ME's direction. He watched how Alexx hesitantly climbed to her feet, then switched his attention back to the perp, studying him closely. The man was still young, probably in his mid-twenties, Horatio guessed. He had a fairly dark skin, deep brown eyes and pitch black hair. His fingers were long and slender, but what was most alarming, they were trembling slightly. The man was nervous, which made him unpredictable.

Horatio knew who the man was, and the situation which had led to him being brought in. There'd been a double homicide at Castillo del Mar, a middle aged couple had been slaughtered in their hotel room. The evidence had spoken and his colleagues had enough proof to put this suspect at the scene, although it was mostly circumstantial and not enough to press charges. Speed and Delko were interrogating the man to find out why he'd been in that hotel room. Horatio wondered why there hadn't been a cop present in the interrogation room, as mandated by protocol. It was a question that would have to be answered later, though.

Meanwhile, Keith had taken a few steps back, moving to a location that easily allowed him a better vantage point of the lab. He still had Speed's gun in one hand and the remote in the other. He switched his attention between the slowly moving woman, who had gathered a small first aid kit to treat the injured man on the floor, and the tall red-haired man, who was far too calm for comfort. The young man hadn't failed to notice the older man's scrutinizing glances making him wonder what was going through the man's mind.

"Calleigh, I want you to stay as still as you can, all right?" Horatio said, looking at his CSI sitting on the chair. Taking in her faint nod he continued with a gentle, reassuring voice. "It's going to be okay." Tilting his head slightly to his left, he turned his attention to the other occupants in the lab. He noticed Alexx working on Eric's injured arm, so he glanced at Speedle first. "Speed, how are you doing?"

"I'm fine, H," Tim answered.

"Eric?" Horatio questioned, as his gaze shifted to the injured man leaning against the desk.

Eric's face was screwed up from the pain, drops of sweat rolling down the side of his face as Alexx was applying pressure to the wound on his arm. "I'll be okay, H," he hissed through gritted teeth and managed to throw his boss a slight smile.

"The boy needs medical attention," Alexx spoke up. "The bullet is still lodged in his arm."

"That's what you get from trying something stupid like that," Keith barked. "Just slap a bandage on his arm and he'll be okay." Agitated, he shifted his weight from one side to the other.

Horatio threw a cold stare at their captor before turning his attention back to Eric and Alexx. "Can you do that, Alexx?" he asked gently.

The dark haired ME nodded. "I'm sorry, sugar," she apologized to her colleague as he winced at her ministrations. As gently as possible, she wrapped up the injured arm, hoping it would stop the bleeding and offer some support. "Done. Try to keep it as still as possible, or it will start bleeding again, all right?"

Eric gave her a faint nod. "Thanks."

Keith coughed, indicating he'd had enough. Pointing roughly in Speed's direction, he motioned for Alexx to retreat.

Understanding, Alexx gave Eric a smile and, with a gentle pat on his uninjured arm, she rose to her feet then assumed her previous position next to Tim.

Satisfied that his injured detective was going to be all right, Horatio now shifted his attention back to the next threat and smiled encouragingly at Calleigh before turning to look at Keith. "Reynolds is your name, isn't it? Keith Reynolds? Listen, Keith. I'm going to take a look under here, all right?"

Alarmed, Keith looked back. This man with his self-assured, dominating attitude and silky voice was making him more than nervous. He stepped closer, alert, watching every movement of the other man.

Horatio slowly moved closer towards Calleigh and crouched down next to her, placing his left knee on the floor. Leaning with one arm on the other knee he cocked his head to look underneath the chair. "Clever," he said, quickly accessing the device. "You know what you're doing, don't you Keith?"

Tilting his head, Horatio looked up to glance at the younger man.

Keith didn't respond, but his eyes never left the man kneeling on the ground.

Horatio slowly shifted and examined the explosives again. "From what I can see, these explosives have both an electrical and a mechanical ignition. Where did you learn that, Keith?" Again, he looked up.

A faint smile appeared on Keith's face, and he shrugged his shoulders, unwilling to share information.

Smiling at his CSI, Horatio continued. "Calleigh, if you don't move, you'll be okay." He took another look underneath the chair. "And what is this, a blasting cap type of detonation?"

Keith had enough. With one quick, fluid motion, he swung the gun with all of his strength. The butt slammed against the kneeling man's head, hitting him just behind the left ear.

The sheer force of the blow threw the Lieutenant sideways. His head crashed loudly against a pole of the desk. He crumpled in a heap on the floor, and didn't move.

"Horatio!" Calleigh cried out, but forced herself to stay still. She tried to look over her shoulder without moving her body but couldn't see where her boss and friend had ended up.

Both Alexx and Speed jumped forward, only stopping dead in their tracks after a threatening look from the guy holding the best cards in the game. Eric hadn't moved, but if looks could kill, Keith would have been dead. Speed was outraged and barely able to keep still, while Alexx's face was filled with concern.

Keith slowly moved forward, sending another warning glare in the direction of his captives. Checking out the man lying on the floor, he sighed in relief when he found the man deeply unconscious. "He was getting on my nerves," he commented. He gave the Lieutenant a swift kick into the ribs and nodded in satisfaction when there was no response. "But now, he's out cold."


	4. What's going on outside?

**A/N: **First of all, my thanks goes to the reviewers... its great to hear from you! Glad you like the story so far. Now...let's get on with it. **  
**

**Part 4 – What's going on outside?**

Outside, behind the parking lot, a lot of activity had been going on. A few people had been busy, setting up some sort of tent. The tent had a roof but was open on three sides. Large tables were placed in an U-shape, giving enough room for the people planning and coordinating the necessary actions.

Communications had used one table and set up equipment, ready to switch it on at the Operations Supervisor's command. Radio, secure landline telephones, appliances to connect to the building's security system, and video plus screen to review tapes if needed. A mobile generator parked nearby provided the power.

Detective Frank Tripp nodded in satisfaction when he crossed the parking lot. Chief Jackson had wasted no time, and apparently knew which ropes to pull to get things moving. He also spotted the white truck of the bomb squad, telling him they'd arrived as well.

Upon approaching the tent, several people greeted him.

D'Antoni rushed forward and deposited the blue-prints of the building on the middle table. "Here you go," he said to his colleague.

"Thank you," Tripp replied.

"I've given them the surveillance tapes," Marcus said, pointing towards the communications table. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get you that list of who is out and who's still inside."

"Good," Frank threw a quick glance at his watch. "I'm sure you know who we might need later, keep them available. Send everybody we don't need home. They can come back to work first thing in the morning. "

D'Antoni gave a brief nod towards Tripp and then left, heading for the assembly point to get to the list of employees who were accounted for.

"Sir, I'm Lou Wogan, head of communications," an older man stepped forward, his hand outstretched. He had a dark grey suit on, and with the shiny, silver grey hair it made him look like a distinguished gentleman.

"Detective Frank Tripp," Frank introduced himself, grabbing the proffered hand and shaking it. "D'Antoni told me he gave you the surveillance tapes?"

"Yes, that's correct," Wogan responded.

"Okay, your first priority is finding out who's inside that building. Get me some details. How many hostiles are we dealing with and what has happened in there? Your second goal will be determining how the bomb has been smuggled inside the building."

"Yes, sir," Wogan said then turned around to pass on the instructions to his employees.

The next person walking up to Tripp introduced himself as Sergeant Orrick. Orrick was younger than Wogan, in his late thirties, Frank estimated. His dark blonde hair was cut short, and he apparently used gel or wax to make it stand up. His perfect pure green eyes matched his handsome face. He was dressed in black blast protective clothing. "Sir. What's the status?"

"We have an unknown number of people inside this lab," Tripp moved towards the middle table and pointed out the CSI lab on the blue-prints of the building. "The head of CSI entered the lab, after leaving his gun on the floor. Just before he stepped inside, he informed me of a bomb being present in the lab and instructed to evacuate the building."

"All right, so we can assume he was forced to step inside. Has the building been cleared?" Orrick demanded as he lifted his head to throw a look at the MDPD building.

"Yes. The buildings surrounding MDPD are also evacuated, and road blocks have been set up to prevent anybody from entering this zone," Frank informed the technician.

"Excellent. I'm going to get our stuff. How soon will you know more?"

"ASAP," Frank responded. "We're working on it. There's the fire unit," he pointed as he spotted the familiar red trucks approaching.

Orrick threw another look at the blue-prints, then at the building in front of him, picturing the situation in his head. His finger tapped on the prints. "I recommend setting them up here, and here."

"I agree," Frank said curtly. "I'll get to it."

While Orrick worked on arranging his equipment, Tripp introduced himself to the chief of the emergency fire unit. After discussing the location of the bomb in the building and the possible escape routes, the chief also agreed on the locations Sergeant Orrick had picked.

That arranged, Tripp called out. "Have the paramedics arrived yet?"

"Yes, sir. We're standing by," one of the medics of the Rescue unit, standing in the back of the tent, replied.

"Good." Tripp smiled at the man, acknowledging his position. At that moment, D'Antoni came running forward. "What have you got?" Tripp asked.

"There's five CSI's inside that lab. Lt. Caine, of course, then Calleigh Duquesne, Eric Delko, Tim Speedle and Dr. Alexx Woods."

"Damn," Frank muttered under his breath. He'd hoped at least some of them wouldn't have been inside the fingerprint lab.

"Excuse me, you said Lieutenant Caine?" Sergeant Orrick asked, after carefully placing a portable X-ray device on the table.

"Yes, why?" Tripp stared at the man.

"Would that be Horatio Caine? The one who's been in the bomb squad?"

"That would be him," Frank nodded.

"That's good," Orrick replied. "At least we have somebody with the proper knowledge on the inside."

Although he could understand the man's reasoning, Frank couldn't help thinking he'd rather have his friend standing next to him right now. "What else, Marcus?" he turned his attention back to the facility manager.

"According to the reception records, Delko and Speedle were interrogating one suspect, one..." D'Antoni paused briefly to read the name from the list he was carrying. "Keith Reynolds."

"He's a suspect in the double hotel murder case. CSI found evidence that put him on the scene." Frank Tripp knew who it was. "Zamboni," he called over his shoulder.

A middle aged short man with short grey hair rushed forward. He was carrying a small notebook, a pencil was shoved behind his right ear and Zamboni reached to grab it. "Yes, sir?"

"Get me everything about Keith Reynolds. I need to know what schools he went to, what clubs he's into, who his friends are, what he does for a living and how he likes to spend his downtime. If he's the one who made this bomb, find me something. Capabilities, possibilities, locations... Anything. Got that?"

Zamboni quickly jotted something down, and nodded. "We're on it." He rushed off.

"Sir," Lou Wogan approached the detective. "We have something."

Sergeant Orrick joined the men at Tripp's signal. "Start talking," Frank urged.

"We've watched the available video tapes. The tape from the lab showed that the bomb is taped underneath a chair, and the blonde woman is sitting on that chair."

Orrick pulled a face. "Damn. It's probably motion controlled."

"We've detected only one hostile inside the lab. This is consistent with the other tapes, we've seen the man enter CSI with detectives Delko and Speedle early in the afternoon and there are also images of the interrogation room confirming this. The suspect is holding some sort of remote control, and threatens the others with it."

Sergeant Orrick slowly nodded. "Radio controlled as well. Makes sense."

"The suspect also has a gun, sir," Lou Wogan now looked at Tripp, his face grim. "The shot you've responded to? It has hit one of the younger men. Take a look at this."

Wogan pressed the buttons and shortly after they all were witnessing Eric Delko getting shot. The commotion that followed was soon cut off, as the tape reached its end. "That's all we have, sir."

"Inform the paramedics," Tripp ordered. "What else have we got?"

"We're waiting for somebody to get the next tapes out of the building, sir."

Frank turned to the bomb technician. "What do you think, can we safely rig the security system and get some audio from the lab here on the speakers?"

"As long as you stay wired," Orrick said. "Wireless could trigger the radio control. I've got no info on which frequency it's using, and we also don't know its range yet. Can you tape it off with a line?"

Head communications gave an affirmative nod. "We'll manage." He already snapped his fingers, drawing the attention of one of his co-workers.

"Do it," ordered Tripp, before looking back at the bomb technician. "So, what do you think?"

"Well, it would be good to get some more info on the radio controlled ignition, but we can get some jammers in the building, blocking the signal. That done..."

"We can send a swat team in," Frank filled in, understanding. "What about the motion triggered part?"

Orrick shrugged. "That's going to be the tricky part. As long as your CSI knows she needs to remain seated, she'll be okay. Once you've cleared the lab, I can go in and dismantle the bomb."

"That's where the presence of Lieutenant Caine can be of an advantage," Tripp said, referring to Orrick's earlier statement.

"Yes. He'll know. So if he makes sure she knows what to do and also prevents the suspect from taking a dive at her, you've got a pretty fair chance."

"Sir, that might become a problem," Wogan now interrupted, as he removed a headphone from one of his ears.

Two men turned towards him, throwing him a questioningly look.

"We have some audio here. Your Lieutenant has just been knocked out by the suspect. He's unconscious."

"Damn," cursed Frank. "Okay, this means we have to instruct one of the swat team members to keep her safe."


	5. What does he want?

**Part 5 – What does he want?**

Keith turned around, and looked at the grim faces staring at him. Both the woman and the uninjured man were still standing, unsure of what to do.

The sight of their unmoving friend was disturbing and Alexx wanted to do nothing but move forward to check on Horatio. Speed's hands were clenched, angry lines etched on his face.

"Sit down!" the black haired captor ordered sharply. He waved the RC at the CSI's in a threatening manner, his thumb again on the round red button. With the older man out for the count, he now felt more secure and forced himself to calm down and remain in control of the situation.

"All right, all right," Tim Speedle gave in, slowly raising his hands in resignation. He didn't like it, but saw no other way out of this yet. "We're just going to sit here."

Both he and Alexx slid to the floor, their backs leaning against the desk of the lab. Alexx stared at the unconscious body of her boss, worried about his condition and angry she couldn't go to him. Eric was still seated in a similar position against the other desk and remained quiet.

Calleigh didn't dare to move. She was still seated on the chair, her hands leaning on the arm-rests. Her eyes wide, she followed their attacker, unable to take her gaze away from him and the RC he was holding.

"That's better," Keith snapped. "Now, you, lady," he turned to face Calleigh. "Unless you want to have parts of that lovely body of yours scattered all over the place, I suggest you remain where you are. One wrong move..." like a madman, the attacker rolled his eyes, while he wildly gestured with his hands. "Boom! If you get up.... Boom. Am I clear on that?"

"Perfectly," Calleigh responded with a faint nod. Being seated on a chair with a bunch of explosives taped underneath wasn't on her list of favorite things and she couldn't stop the nervous rushes of adrenaline pumping through her veins. For some reason, Horatio's presence had made her feel safer, but with him unconscious now, she had a hard time controlling her fear. Trying to shake off the feeling of helplessness, she steadied her voice. "What do you want?"

"What I want? What I want?" Keith sneered. "I think I've already told your colleagues what I want. I want all charges against me dropped, and all evidence destroyed. I don't want to be connected to that hotel room, you hear? Also, I want a car, and one of you driving me out of here. Now keep quiet and let me think."

Eric sat quietly, barely listening to the conversation. From where he was seated, he had the best view over the lab and could see his boss and friend lying motionless on the floor. He had to shift a bit to get a better view on Horatio's head and when he did, his suspicions were proven right. There was blood flowing from behind Horatio's left ear. "Alexx," he started, hoping Keith had calmed down enough to allow them to get some help to his boss. "Horatio's bleeding. Can you go and check him out?"

The ME looked at their attacker, her eyes questioning, waiting for permission.

Keith seemed to consider the idea, as he threw a quick glance at the unconscious man on the floor before looking at the woman who had assisted the other injured man a while ago. The urge to deny the request was big, as he couldn't care less about the downed man.

"Look," Alexx tried to reason with him. "The man's unconscious, and head wounds tend to bleed a lot. Do you want him to end up dead? That would most definitely lower your chances of getting out of here."

The perp stared at her, taking her reasoning into account. The woman called Alexx by her colleagues was right, he thought, there was no way they would let him go after he'd killed one of them. "Okay," Keith nodded after a long pause. "One wrong move, however..."

"I know, I know," Alexx hastened to say. She slowly moved to her feet, took a handful of gauze and a new roll of bandages from the med kit she'd left on one of the desks then headed to the other side of the lab. Kneeling next to the prone man, she winced at the sight of the blood matting his red hair, steadily dripping to the floor. "Oh, honey," she muttered. "You're going to have one hell of a headache."

"Alexx?" Calleigh asked, biting her lip from worry. She'd given anything to be able to look for herself how Horatio was doing, but she was afraid to move.

Alexx didn't answer immediately. She silently felt for a pulse, then prodded around the damaged area. Without the proper equipment she couldn't be sure, but she hoped his skull wasn't fractured. Her fingers moved carefully over Horatio's head until she'd reached the area where he'd hit the pole. Finding a lump but no bleeding there, she pressed the gauze to the open head wound.

"We're looking at a wide crack behind Horatio's ear," she informed her anxiously waiting colleagues. "I think I can stop the bleeding and put a bandage on it, but I'm afraid the wound needs stitches."

"And?" Calleigh inquired, needing to know more.

"And he's probably concussed, hopefully nothing more. We won't know until he wakes up." Alexx decided that was all they needed to know right now. Trying to keep the concern from her face, she sat quietly, waiting for the wound to stop bleeding. She wished she could get what she needed from her own kit, but she had to work with what was available.

When the bleeding had stopped, she opened the package of bandages. Placing some gauze underneath to cover the wound, she wrapped the bandage several times around Horatio's head and fastened it with a final knot.

By then, Keith had enough, and urged her to move back to her previous position on the floor next to Speed. She quickly did as she was told, satisfied that her friend at least wouldn't bleed to death.

"Here's what we're going to do," Keith announced. With the gun in his hand he motioned at Alexx on the floor. "You're going to make a call for me. You're going to ask for a van, with a full tank of gas and they're going to park it right outside the front door."

"You'll never get away with that," Speed sneered.

"Yes, I will. You know why?" the perp smiled and motioned with his head towards Calleigh. "Because if I'm not, the pretty one will be … gone."

Alexx bit on her lip. Speed's eyes shifted from the dark haired bomber to his blonde colleague on the chair.

"And you, pretty lady," Keith now looked back at Alexx. "You're going to drive. And to make absolutely sure nobody is going to try anything, we'll take your injured friend with us." He pointed at Eric.

"No," protested Alexx. "He needs medical attention."

"Exactly," Keith agreed. "And the sooner and better you cooperate, the faster he gets it. When we're safely out of town, we'll let him out of the car somewhere."

"You can't do that," Tim objected, not liking this a bit. "I'll go."

"It's okay, Speed," Eric replied softly.

"He goes, and that's final," Keith decided, pointing at Eric. "And you are staying here, reminding everybody that if they try anything…" he acted out pressing down the button with his thumb and rolled his eyes. "Boom! Got it? Now you, lady," he looked back at Alexx. "Make the call."

Just as Alexx shifted to get up, a soft moan drew everybody's attention.

Calleigh's head shot sideward, but she still couldn't see what she so desperately needed to see.

"Arggh," Horatio groaned, completely unaware of the anxious eyes staring in his direction. The crime scene Lieutenant tried to push himself up by placing his hands on the floor. He almost reached a sitting position when his stomach rebelled.

Alexx wanted to rush forward, but sharp looks thrown in her direction made it clear Keith wouldn't allow it. She winced at the sound of retching and exchanged a worried glance with Speed.

Keith moved closer, nervously checking on the person he feared the most. The red-haired man tried to sit up straighter after the heaving ceased, but to Keith's pleasure the man was trembling, weakly sagging sideways against the desk.

"Horatio," Calleigh, who heard the shifting but couldn't see what her boss was doing, spoke gently. "Horatio, you've hurt your head, so I need you to stay down, all right?"

"Calleigh?" a trembling, soft voice that was far from Horatio's usual tone answered. "Where's the cat?"

"What cat?" Calleigh asked in surprise.

"The cat needs food. Roasted nuts are good. Why, the cat is yellow," came the soft incomprehensible answer.

Shaking her head in wonder, Calleigh stared at Eric, who shrugged at her. "I wouldn't worry about the cat right now, Horatio," Calleigh said although she had no idea what he meant. "Just take it easy, okay?"

"The moon shouts in a red haze through the sand," Horatio mumbled.

"Alexx?" Speed demanded, not liking this a bit. "He's not making any sense."

"The poor man has hit his head pretty hard," Alexx softly explained. "He's confused, which is not uncommon with concussions... there might be fluid building up, increasing the pressure..." She saw how her boss struggled to keep his eyes open. Luckily, there was no fresh blood forming under her makeshift bandage. "Look," she now firmly spoke, looking at their attacker. "Head wounds are dangerous and he really needs medical attention. Why don't you let him go?"

"He stays right where he is," Keith barked, still feeling secure with the older man injured and apparently incoherent from the blow to his head.

Horatio responded to Keith's voice, cocking his head a bit as he tried to focus on the silhouette. "Are you our new CSI? I'm sorry, I should give you a tour through the building."

"We'll do that later," Calleigh immediately responded, forcing herself to sound reassuring. "Now stay still and rest a bit, okay?"

"Why are the trees red? There's so many of them, at least one hundred and fifteen," Horatio asked nobody in particular, then let out a long, deep sigh while his eyes drifted shut. "The sky is blue. The day isn't over, but rest... sounds good."


	6. They're going in

**Part 6 – They're going in**

Captain Jackson arrived, and marched from the car to the tents. "Tripp?" his tone demanded immediate attention. "What have we got?"

Frank turned to face his boss. "Sir, we have one suspect inside the fingerprint lab. Besides Lieutenant Caine, we have Delko, Speedle, Duquesne and Woods inside. Calleigh is sitting on the bomb, which is both motion and remotely controlled."

"So what's the good news?" Jackson asked, rolling his eyes.

"There's none yet, sir," Tripp continued. "Delko has been shot in his arm during the first shooting and the perp has knocked Lieutenant Caine unconscious."

Jackson just stared at him, concern etched on his face.

"But, the bomb squad believes we can jam the frequency of the radio controller, which gives us the opportunity to send in a swat team."

"Sirs," Lou Wogan tried to get their attention, sending them an apologetic look. "Your Lieutenant has regained consciousness. I'm afraid he has a serious head injury, he's really making no sense."

"Can't Caine stay out of trouble for at least a month?" Jackson barked, the worried look in his eyes softening the effect of the sarcasm in his voice.

Tripp sighed. His friend had only been back for three weeks yet, after eight weeks of recovery from his painful encounter with some students from Cabrerra University.

Sergeant Orrick, who'd overheard the conversation, stepped forward, frowning. "What do you mean by he's not making sense? What's he saying?"

Wogan shrugged his shoulders. "First, he asked about the cat. A yellow cat. Then something weird about the moon shouting through a red haze, or something like that. He must have been hit pretty hard if you ask me."

"Or he's trying to tell us something," Orrick's eyes lit up. "Would Lieutenant Caine know we could be listening to what's happening inside?"

Shaking off his concern, Tripp anxiously looked at the bomb squad's technician. "Yes, he would."

Orrick turned to head communications. "Can you get me a script of everything that's been said?"

Wogan nodded and turned to pass on some instructions.

The Sergeant now looked at Tripp and Chief Jackson. "I'm pretty sure your Lieutenant has just told me what type of bomb we're dealing with. I bet he's given more than that, so if you'll excuse me, I'm going to concentrate on what exactly he has said and than I'll know what equipment to bring inside. In the meantime, I suggest you get the swat team in position and ready to act."

"One of my CSI's is sitting on that bomb," Chief Jackson asked, while he motioned for Tripp to get it done. His dark eyes glared hard at the young bomb technician. "Are you absolutely sure?"

The dark blonde man nodded confidently. "Pretty sure." With a thankful smile he accepted the sheet of paper handed to him by Lou Wogan. Spreading the paper out on the table, his fingers traced the lines of the conversation that were typed out. "Here. Here, clever," he pointed without explaining. "Frequency range... a blast cap detonation... Perfect. Your man knows what he's doing, sir. I need less than fifteen minutes to set up the ECM that will block the radio control's frequency. Then your swat team can go in to take out the suspect."

"What about the bomb?"

"When the lab is clear, I'll have to go in and dismantle it in place, sir. I'm afraid your female CSI will need to remain right where she is."

"Can you do it?" Jackson needed to know.

Orrick gave a brief nod. "She has a pretty fair chance, sir."

"Get to it, son," Chief Jackson ordered. "Good luck." He turned around and yelled. "Tripp!"

Frank came rushing forward, snapping his phone shut. "The swat team is taking in their position right now, sir," he informed his boss.

"Well done, Frank," Chief Jackson complimented the detective. "Let's do this."

Sergeant Orrick and one of his colleagues had already left to enter the MDPD building to set up the ECM. It was all a matter of waiting now.

"Sir," Wogan called out again, this time with the receiver of the secure phone in his hand.

Both Jackson and Tripp turned around.

Lou indicated at Frank, waving with the receiver. "Dr. Woods on the line for you, sir."

Tripp quickly exchanged looks with the Chief.

'Stall,' mouthed Jackson.

Grabbing the receiver, Frank answered. "Detective Tripp," he announced.

"Frank, this is Alexx," the ME of the department answered.

"Alexx," Frank responded, admiring the coroner for her strength. Her voice didn't falter and if you didn't know any better, you'd think this was just a social conversation.

"Frank, Calleigh is sitting on a bomb. The bomber has threatened to blow it up unless you get him a fully filled van."

"A van?" Tripp asked. "Why a van?"

"I don't know," Alexx responded curtly. "He wants it parked right out front at the entrance. I'll be driving it, and Eric is coming, too."

"All right. Let me see if I get this right. Calleigh is sitting on a bomb?"

"Yes, it is taped underneath her chair," Alexx responded. "And he can set it off with this thing in his hand..."

"What about the shooting, what happened, everybody all right?" Tripp wanted to know, although he already had the facts.

"Eric's got a bullet in his arm... he'll be okay. Look, he's getting impatient. Are you going to get us the van, or not, sugar?"

"Alexx, call me in five minutes or so. I've got to go and discuss this with the Captain, you know that," he tried to reason, knowing she'd understand. Hopefully she could make the perp understand. He really didn't need that much time, the swat team could go in any minute now.

The coroner agreed, and broke off the connection. Tripp turned, facing Chief Jackson. "He wants to get away in a van, and he wants to take Alexx Woods and Eric Delko with him."

"The hell he will," Jackson snapped. Rubbing a hand across his face, he thought it over for a brief second, then decided. "All right. Let's play along and get a van. Make it drive over from there, slowly."

Frank was already onto it.


	7. Hell breaks loose

**A/N: **thanks so much to the reviewers. You're great!

**Part 7 - Hell breaks loose**

Dr. Alexx Woods put the receiver down. Looking at Keith, she explained. "I'm to call back within ten minutes, the detective had to consult the head of the department."

Keith frowned. He wondered if he was being tricked or not. Ten minutes wasn't that much, so obviously they weren't deliberately stalling the situation. He'd wait it out and see what they had to say.

While she was still standing, Alexx wondered if she'd take the opportunity to take another step closer to Horatio, so she could check on him. His incoherent ramblings had worried her and she really didn't want him to fall back into unconsciousness, as he could easily slip into a coma.

Keith wouldn't let her. With a gruff cough of warning, he alerted the doctor to step back, then glanced at his watch. "You better hope they keep their end of the bargain," he muttered, thinking of what he could do if they didn't.

"Three strikes, you're out," said Horatio, his eyes tightly shut. "Can we go to the game tonight?"

"We have a date, handsome," Calleigh responded, forcing herself to use her usual cheerful voice. Despite her own dire situation, she was worried sick about her boss's condition.

"Shut up," Keith barked angrily. He moved closer to the Lieutenant, ready to knock him on the head a second time.

"Hey!" Eric yelled in rage. "Leave him alone!"

Keith threw a meaningful smirk over his shoulder, ready to act.

Then, hell broke loose.

Something came flying through the window behind Eric, the shattered glass flying through the lab. The young man immediately drew in his head and protectively threw his uninjured arm over it for cover.

"Calleigh, keep still!" Horatio's voice was heard above the noise of pieces of glass falling on the floor. "Everyone else, get down!"

Meanwhile, the door was thrown open, and while two dark figures rolled smoothly inside, Horatio had already slammed into Keith, knocking the surprised man down before he could do anything.

One member of the swat team was on top of the perp already, his gun at Keith's temple. "Drop it, mister."

"I'd listen to the man, RIGHT now," Horatio added sharply, and only when Keith let go of the gun did he relax. Knowing the situation was under control, he scrambled to his feet, turned around to face his CSI's and asked, "Everybody all right?"

Eric nodded, shrugging off the shattered glass.

"We're fine, H," Speed acknowledged, holding out an outstretched hand for Alexx to help her to her feet while he slapped his pants with the other. Looking up, he stared at Horatio.

Alexx had grabbed the proffered hand, got up and looked from Eric to Horatio. "We're okay, sugar." Her eyes showing her surprise she quickly studied him. "You're okay?"

"Fine," Horatio quickly shrugged her off, then turned to give Calleigh a reassuring smile. "Stay still. We'll get you out of here soon, all right?"

She stared at him with open mouth, ready to say something. Taking in the swat team that was waiting for attention, she decided against it and just nodded.

One of the swat team members moved within Horatio's view. "Sir, the bomb squad is coming in any minute now," he said.

"Good. Thank you," Horatio smiled, then threw one last glance at the perp on the floor. "You didn't get away with this, did you, Keith? Get him out of here."

"Yes, sir," the other man replied, then after cuffing the suspect, he dragged him to his feet and they left.

"Alexx," Horatio now addressed his ME. "Alexx, could you please take Eric outside and see to it that he gets medical attention? Speed, go with them. Take the stairs, all right?"

"You need to come too, Horatio," Alexx protested, although she knew it would be of no use. "You need some stitches, you know." Stepping closer to her boss, she looked into his eyes, then her gaze drifted to the makeshift bandage that was still wrapped around his head. Luckily, she found no fresh blood soaking through.

"Horatio, go," pleaded Calleigh. "I'll be all right."

"Yes, you will. And I'm going to make sure you are," Horatio responded resolutely. He lifted a hand, brushing slightly over the bandage above his left ear. "Alexx, it's okay. We'll be down soon and then you can patch this up, all right?"

Alexx rolled her eyes. "As if you ever listen to me," she muttered under her breath. "All right, Eric, let's get you out of here." She turned towards the injured man, smiling thankfully as Tim had already helped him up. Brushing her hand through Calleigh's hair she whispered, "You'll be fine... see you later, sweetheart."

"Good luck, H," Speed wished then stopped to look at Calleigh. "See you soon."

"We'll go out for dinner tonight, after this is all over," Eric commented, also attempting to sound as normal as he could. "Cal, you get to pick the restaurant."

"I'll hold you to that," Calleigh smiled, and watched her friends leave before looking back at Horatio. "Are you sure you' re all right?"

"I'm fine," Horatio tried to reassure her. "Just a headache."

"I bet." Calleigh frowned. She still wasn't convinced that it was just that, but also knew he wouldn't admit to anything more than that. Taking another good look at him, she grinned. His suit was all wrinkles, and dark stains on both his jacket and pants showed he'd been sliding over the floor. His hair was ruffled, there were dark patches of crusted blood in his hair and on his neck and the bandage Alexx had wrapped around his head made the image complete.

"What are you laughing at?" he asked, tilting his head a bit.

"You look like Rambo," she chuckled.

Horatio raised his brows, although his eyes showed his amusement. "Rambo, huh?" he commented. "I don't remember seeing Johnny wear a suit."

She wanted to respond, but fell silent when a man, wearing a black bomb suit, appeared in the doorway to the lab. "Hello. You must be Mrs. Duquesne. And Lieutenant Caine? I'm Sergeant Orrick of the bomb squad," the younger man held out his arm then shook hands with Horatio. "It's an honor, sir. Your hints came through loud and clear. Thank you."

Horatio smiled. "I'm glad I could help out."

Calleigh's eyes widened in surprise. "You weren't talking nonsense at all, but were actually giving them the needed information?"

"Yes, ma'am," Orrick nodded. "We know exactly what we're facing. Now let's take a look at the package." His equipment within reach, the bomb squad technician knelt and bent forward to look underneath the chair Calleigh was sitting on. "All right. Let's see if we can get a closer look at the detonator," he said, reaching out for his portable X-ray machine.

Horatio wanted to watch and bent forward as well, but his head protested as the pounding intensified, and it made him slightly dizzy. Slowly, he moved back.

"Horatio Caine!" Calleigh said sharply. "Don't even think I didn't see you stagger. Now sit down before you fall down and let the Sergeant do his job."

Orrick briefly looked up, taking in the older man's features. "Are you all right, Lieutenant?"

Sighing, Horatio threw his hands up in resignation. "Fine... Just a little dizzy, that's all." He drew a chair closer and sat down. "So, how long are you with the squad?"

"Three years, sir. I had the opportunity to work with the best the squad had," Orrick said, while he took the X-ray.

"Really?" Horatio asked. "Who was that?"

"Al Humphries, sir. I know you worked with him as well. He taught me everything I know."

Horatio's head turned away as he stared into nothing, away from the two people in the lab.

Calleigh bit on her lip, the memory of the day Al Humphries had died still fresh in her mind.

Placing the X-ray machine back, Sergeant Orrick sat up straight and looked at the silent man for a long time. "He really was the best, sir," he finally said with a soft voice.

The red haired man gave a barely noticeable nod. "That he was." Turning back, Horatio now glanced at the younger technician. "That he was," he repeated with a ghost of a smile.

Orrick returned his attention to the task at hand and studied the X-ray. "All right, I'll have to remove some stuff, and then I'll know if we can replace you," he smiled at Calleigh, "with something of similar weight. You just keep still. Okay?"

"Oh, I'm not going anywhere," Calleigh tried to sound as normal as possible. She remained quiet, her gaze never leaving that of Horatio's. She realized the mentioning of his former mentor at the bomb squad had brought back some sad memories, although he'd never really opened up to her about it. She was worried and really needed a sign from him convincing her that he'd be okay.

It took him a while, but then Horatio shrugged his shoulders, in an attempt to physically shake off the burden. The sadness that had been evident for a while was now being replaced by concentration as he drew his attention back to the situation at hand.

"Sir, what's your favorite color?" Sergeant Orrick called out from under the seat.

"You're kidding, right?" Calleigh said as she turned her head to look down, her eyes wide with disbelief.

Horatio smiled, never showing what he was really thinking. "What have you got, Sergeant?"

Orrick sat up straight, placed his tools on the floor, and shifted until he could face both CSI's. "Well. We can forget about replacing you with something else. It won't work. So it basically comes down to cutting the right wire."

"Just like in the movies?" Calleigh asked, still unable to hide her surprise.

Nodding, Orrick looked at the former bomb squad technician. "You might have to redecorate the lab, but there will be hardly any damage to the rest of the building. I'm thinking yellow. But please, have a look."

Horatio slowly moved, and the fingers of one hand slightly brushed Calleigh's thigh before he knelt next to the chair. Placing a hand on the floor to steady himself, the Lieutenant carefully bent forward and studied the bunch of explosives.

"So, Calleigh, what is your favorite color," he asked in a teasing way, trying to distract her.

"Oh, red," she said without hesitation. "Definitely red."

"Hmmm. Let's leave the red wire in one piece, then," Horatio commented, before getting up. He wavered a bit, as black spots threatened to cloud his vision. Steadying himself with one hand on the floor, he massaged his temples with the thumb and index finger of his other hand.

Calleigh looked worried. "Horatio?" she asked softly.

"All right. Here's what we're going to do," he started, throwing her a faint smile. "You're going to hold on to me, and on three, we jump that way," he pointed into the direction he had in mind, "while Sergeant Orrick here cuts the yellow wire."

Calleigh stared at Horatio as if he'd grown another head. "Please, tell me..." she started.

Horatio grabbed her hands and squeezed them gently. "Calleigh, believe me. This is the way it has to go down. It's gonna be all right. You're going to be fine."

"Okay. Fine. But I want you out of here. I can jump from this chair perfectly well by myself," she decided.

"I'm sure you can. But I can just give you an extra swing, getting you away from the possible blast," Horatio reasoned while he got up from the floor.

"Is that true?" Calleigh looked sideways, searching for the younger bomb technician. "Is this the only way?"

"Yes, ma'am. I'm afraid the Lieutenant is right. It's the best we can do."

"I'm staying and that's non-negotiable," stated Horatio. He'd taken up his resolute posture, legs slightly spread, hands firmly at his hips.

"And how about you?" Calleigh demanded as she faced the younger man, needing to know how it was going down.

"Don't worry about me," Orrick reassured her. "I'm wearing my bomb suit, and I have my tools. I'll be cutting that wire from a distance."

Calleigh stared at him, then her eyes scanned the equipment on the floor before looking back at her boss. "This is crazy," she muttered.

"It's gonna be okay, Calleigh," Horatio said gently. "I promise. Let's do this."

Sergeant Orrick's gaze went from one to the other, and nodded. "Okay. But we're going to get you into some protective clothing first, sir."

Horatio didn't even get the chance to object.

"Yes, you're going to wear that, Horatio, or I won't jump at all," Calleigh said sharply. "And that's non-negotiable as well."

Sergeant Orrick tried to hide a smile before he continued. "I'll have them bring in a protective shield, too. You can dive behind it, it will give you some protection."

That said he used his radio to order the necessary equipment.


	8. Preparing for a possible explosion

**A/N:** thanks to those who feedback! You're the best.... **  
**

**Part 8 – Preparing for a possible explosion**

Detective Frank Tripp looked anxiously at the entrance of Miami Dade PD. The swat team should have taken control of the situation and he expected to see some results any time now.

As on cue, the two swat team members appeared in the doorway, with somebody in their middle. Tripp, having watched the surveillance tapes, immediately recognized the man as their suspect, Keith Reynolds. The suspect had his hands cuffed behind his back, and the swat team quickly took him to a waiting car to take him away.

Only moments later, Frank saw three of the CSI hostages appear, Alexx, Tim, and Eric who supported his injured arm with the other. They crossed the parking lot, heading toward the command center.

Captain Jackson stood next to Frank, waiting for his three people. "Are you all right?" he asked once the criminalists were reaching the tent.

"We're fine," Tim Speedle acknowledged.

"Eric needs a medic," Alexx filled in, "there's a bullet in his arm."

Frank looked his friends over, then motioned for the waiting paramedics. "Let's get that looked at, Eric," he said. "Go with them."

"I'm not going anywhere until I know Calleigh is safe," Eric protested, trying to shrug off the paramedics that were attempting to guide him away.

"Honey, you need them to take care of that arm," Alexx reasoned. "They can do that in the ambulance, all right? I'm coming with you." Not taking no for an answer, Alexx now assisted the paramedics in taking Eric with them to the waiting ambulance.

Speed stared after them, before turning his gaze back to the Captain and Frank Tripp. "Nice show," he complimented the men.

"How's H?" Frank asked, needing to know. He knew now that his friend hadn't been talking nonsense after the blow to his head, and he wasn't really surprised that Horatio had stayed behind with Calleigh, but he couldn't help worrying.

Speed shrugged. "The suspect knocked him out, and he was unconscious for a while. According to Alexx he's going to need some stitches, but she's managed to stop the bleeding. For a while, we thought he'd really had it, he started to talk funny."

"He was informing us of the bomb," Captain Jackson joined in.

Speed nodded. "That's what I understand now as well. So apart from a mother of a headache, I guess he should be okay."

"Sirs," Wogan interrupted the men. "I've got Sergeant Orrick on the line. He needs some protective clothing and a shield."

"What for?" demanded the Chief, as he threw an alarmed glance at his building.

"Sergeant Orrick explained that he's got to cut the last wire of the bomb. Lieutenant Caine is going to assist Calleigh in jumping behind the shield they are requesting for."

"I'm just going to assume they know what they are doing," Captain Jackson sighed. He absentmindedly ran a hand through his hair. "Do we have any information on the force of the explosives?"

Lou Wogan repeated the question through the phone, listened for a while then faced the Captain. "The lab is the only place that could be damaged, sir. Some windows might blow, but the area is clear."

Jackson gave a brief nod, then turned to look at Frank Tripp. "All right. Let's do this. I'm going to make a call." He stepped aside, with the receiver in his hand and dialed.

Tripp turned to Sergeant Orrick's colleague. "Can you get the stuff he needs, please? Do you have anything protective to cover Miss Duquesne with, too?"

Orrick's colleague nodded affirmatively. "Yes, sir. I'll get right to it."

"Thank you," Frank replied. "Inform fire and rescue of a possible explosion, too, please?" He watched as the man took off to take care of things then noticed that Captain Jackson had finished his call.

Again, Lou Wogan called their attention. "Sirs, we've been looking at the surveillance tapes. I think you better come and take a look."

Jackson stepped forward first, followed suite by Frank and Tim.

"We've been searching for possibilities to get those explosives inside," Wogan explained. "On all the video tapes from today we didn't find a thing. But, this tape is from last night." He pointed at the screen. It showed one of the workers coming inside the building, carrying a plastic bag.

"What's in there?" Speed asked, moving closer to get a good look.

"I don't know," Wogan said. "But we've been checking for people entering the building carrying something that could hide the explosives. Next, we've been checking the available surveillance tapes from CSI, hoping we could put one of those people entering the building with a package at the scene. This is the first opportunity we've found. Of course the man could have brought in anything in that bag, but what's drawn our attention is that he's actually been in the fingerprint lab that night."

"He doesn't work for CSI," stated Tim. "He's got no reason to be there, especially not in our lab."

"He's a desk clerk. His name is Ralph. Ralph something. What was he doing there?" Frank asked, vaguely recognizing the man. "Do we have images from that?"

Wogan shook his head. "No. Just of him entering, nothing more. I guessed it was worth checking out, though."

Jackson agreed. "So Keith Reynolds could have had help from one of our own. Let's bring him in for questioning. Adele can pick him up."

"Excuse me," Frank apologized, as he walked away to pass on the instructions to his female colleague. When Adele and two officers had left, Frank walked over to talk to Zamboni. He quickly informed the man of their discoveries and ordered him to look for any clues of Keith Reynolds having met the man they were now also suspecting.

Upon returning, Frank looked at Speed. "When they've disarmed that bomb, you need to swab the lab for prints. You might find something that ties this Ralph to the scene."

"We will," Tim nodded confidently. Looking up, they watched as the bomb squad man returned from having delivered the requested items.

"First, we wait, until the area is cleared," Captain Jackson said, rubbing a hand wearily over his face. "And pray that our people will come out unharmed." One glance at his people told him they were all at least as nervous as he was feeling.


	9. Last ditch

**Part 9 – Last ditch**

Lieutenant Horatio Caine took off his jacket and placed it over the back of a chair. Sergeant Orrick handed him the blast protective clothing and Horatio started getting dressed while the younger man assisted Calleigh. He pulled some sort of vest over her head, which covered her front as much as possible, then wrapped some material around her legs for protection. A helmet completed the set, and after a brief nod, the Sergeant set to preparing his equipment.

Calleigh, unable to assist, was left to watch in silence. Her heart was racing, despite the many ways Horatio had tried to calm her down. She was sitting on a bomb, and the last case she remembered with a bomb had been that guy with the pipe bomb around his neck. Al Humphries had been the one to do the hands-on and the whole thing had exploded, killing both the victim and the bomb squad technician.

She didn't want to think about a repeating of history. She knew Horatio well enough to know how hard it had been for him to watch the explosion that had killed his mentor. That exactly **that** was the reason why he refused to leave. He just couldn't watch from a distance, not again, not with one of his own people on the inside. Especially her, although she was positive he would have done exactly the same thing for Eric or Tim if one of them had been sitting on this chair.

For Calleigh, however, things were different. While she had no choice, he had. And she wanted him to live, whether she was going to make it or not. She wasn't ready to die, and she definitely wasn't ready to drag him with her. Bringing this up wasn't going to get her anywhere, however, so she accepted his presence and forced herself to hope for the best.

"Calleigh, are you okay?" his soft and gentle voice interrupted her inner turmoil.

She looked up, and found a pair of blue eyes, glancing at her in worry. She smiled. "I'm fine, Horatio. I just wish this was over."

"It will be, in a minute. Have you picked that restaurant yet?" he asked, in another attempt to distract her.

"I'm still thinking, okay?" she answered absentmindedly, as she watched intently at what the bomb technician was doing.

Sergeant Orrick had finished setting up his equipment. The cutter he was going to use was long, allowing the technician to stay at a relatively safe distance. He'd also set up some sort of screen, like a mobile room-divider. The screen was made of blast-protective material, and would serve as a shield. It was set up to Calleigh's left, the screen being directed at the blast-area.

Orrick moved, until he was standing right beside Calleigh, held out his hands as if he was going to drag her away, then looked over his shoulder. "I think this is it, Lieutenant," he said. "You'll pull her off the chair and dive behind the shield, all right?"

Horatio stood still, his head slightly tilted, his eyes following the line of movement, from the chair to the shield. Nodding in approval, he stepped closer. "All right. Let's do this, right now."

"On three?" Sergeant Orrick asked, while moving in position.

"On three," acknowledged Horatio. "Calleigh, on three, I want you to jump with me, and we're going to get behind that screen, all right?"

This was it, she thought, and nodded. Lifting her arms, she offered her hands to Horatio.

He took her hands, shifted until he stood steadily and looked over his shoulder to aim where he was going. Turning his head, he looked at her one last time, threw her a smile, then shifted his attention to Sergeant Orrick. "Ready?"

Orrick had picked up his equipment and slowly and carefully positioned it, the blazers open, the yellow wire trapped between them. He couldn't look away from his task anymore so he settled for saying yes.

"Okay. Here we go. One. Two," Horatio's hands clasped around Calleigh's hands. "Three!"

Orrick cut the wire.

Horatio jerked at Calleigh's hands and dove, dragging her with him, shielding her with his body, as he rolled and maneuvered, until they landed behind the shield, Calleigh on her back, Horatio protectively on top of her.

She had her eyes tightly closed, waiting for the explosion.

Horatio didn't move, covering her with his body, waiting, expectantly.

It didn't come. Nothing happened.

Then, Sergeant Orrick's voice broke the silence. "We're safe."

Crying out in utter relief, Calleigh finally dared to open her eyes. "We made it."

"Yes, we did, didn't we?" Horatio smiled. He slowly rolled off her, then sat up. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine now, handsome," she said happily, and used her elbows to push herself into a sitting position. She started removing the blast protective clothing, starting with the helmet, noticing from the corner of her eyes that Horatio was doing the same. "You?" she inquired, and her eyes widened as she looked him over. "Horatio, your head is bleeding again. Sit still."

He placed his helmet on the ground and frowned. He lifted a hand to touch the damaged area. His fingers came back slick with blood.

Calleigh had already jumped up, gathered some gauze from the same kit as Alexx had done earlier, then knelt beside him. "Here, let me." As gently as she could, she pressed the gauze over the bandage that had now turned red with blood.

He winced.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I think we need to call in the medics."

"It's okay, Cal," Horatio reassured her. "Let's go down and see how Eric is doing, all right? I think Sergeant Orrick can handle the disposal of the bomb."

Sergeant Orrick looked up. He'd moved towards the chair and was looking underneath it, examining the remaining bomb. "You two go ahead, I'll wrap this baby up in a special container and then I'm done."

"Thank you," Calleigh said, "for all you've done for me."

"You're welcome, ma'am," he answered. "I was just doing my job."

"And you were doing it pretty well, Sergeant," Horatio added. "Al has taught you well."

"Thank you, sir," Orrick smiled.

"Here, hold this," Calleigh said, as she lifted Horatio's arm and guided his hand until it was on top of the makeshift bandage. Withdrawing her own hand, she looked in satisfaction how he kept his hand in position, keeping pressure on the wound. Grabbing him under his other arm, she pulled him to his feet. "Let's go."

Together, they left the lab and headed for the stairs. Calleigh didn't fail to notice how her boss staggered slightly, so she hooked into his free arm, providing him with some support. "Hold on to me," she told him before slowly guiding him downstairs. Reaching the main hall, she glanced sideways. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," he said, and let go of her arm as they reached the front door. Ever the gentleman, he opened it for her. "After you."

"Well, thank you," Calleigh said as she stepped outside. "Isn't there a lot of activity going on here," she commented, seeing for the first time what the situation with Keith Reynolds had caused. She noticed the command post, the fire trucks, the extra police officers and swat team, the rescue unit, all gathered around the building. The streets were blocked at a safe distance, and, looking back at the command post, she spotted her colleague Tim Speedle waving his arms, with Frank Tripp sporting a wide grin standing next to him.

"Guess they are happy to see you," Horatio remarked with a smile. He took out his sunglasses and put them on.

"I didn't know I was that popular," she teased. "I wonder how Eric is doing."

"Well, let's get over there and find out, shall we?" Horatio invited her, and together they walked into the direction of the parking lot.

**A/N's:** that's it for now, folks! At least you know now that Cal is okay. The final chapter isn't finished, though, and I'm going away for a while, so you will have to wait for that til January. Thanks for all of your reviews, you guys feed my pen! I love it.Merry Christmas and a happy new year to all of you. **- Corine.**


	10. The conclusion

**Part 10 - The conclusion**

The bomb technician that had remained behind at the control center was the one announcing the good news. "They're safe!" he called out with a raised voice.

A loud cheering and clapping of hands was the immediate result.

Tim Speedle turned to Tripp and raised his right hand. Tripp mirrored the gesture and swung his hand forward, meeting Speedle's with a sharp clap.

Tripp then looked at the member of the bomb squad and held a thumb up. "Good job."

"Indeed," agreed Chief Jackson with a wide smile as he glanced around the command post, briefly meeting everybody's eyes. "Well done, everybody."

"What happens to the bomb?" Speed asked. He knew he had a job to do in the lab, but wasn't too keen on coming near the explosives.

"Sergeant Orrick has a special container. He will deposit the explosives in there and then we'll be able to transport it without risking an explosion. You can process the pieces once we've rendered it safe," the bomb technician explained.

"Okay," Tim nodded in understanding. A small punch on his arm made him turn around. It was Frank, drawing his attention to the opening doors of MDPD.

They both waved at Calleigh and Horatio. Horatio had one hand pressed against his head, but seemed okay and Calleigh was smiling widely. They made their way over to the command center.

Frank quickly checked them both out. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Calleigh said, still smiling.

"H?" Frank pushed on, looking at Horatio with a frown.

"Oh, I'll be all right," Horatio answered without revealing too much and continued, diverting everybody's attention to another subject. "How's Eric doing?"

"Alexx took him to the ambulance," Speed informed his colleagues. "She said they could treat him there, he refused to go to the hospital."

"He was being stubborn?" Calleigh asked, rolling her eyes.

"Horatio, Calleigh," the deep voice of Captain Jackson demanded their attention.

Responding to the Chief's voice, Horatio turned around. The abrupt movement appeared to be too much for his pounding head as black spots suddenly clouded his vision. The dizziness intensified and he staggered before his legs buckled and his world went black.

"Horatio!" Calleigh jumped forward, caught the tumbling man under the armpits and, unable to hold the limp body upwards, she bent to her knees and guided him to the ground.

"Medic!" Before his CSI leader was even stretched out on the ground, Chief Jackson had already hollered for assistance, while Speed just stood there, his eyes wide with surprise and concern.

Frank had dropped to one knee and pulled Horatio's right arm into a more comfortable position. Looking from his unconscious friend to Calleigh he shook his head in dismay. "Remind me not to believe him when he claims he's fine."

Calleigh had carefully placed Horatio's head in her lap, and she'd taken over the gauze from his limp hand. Gently, she replaced the bandage at the still oozing head wound.

A medic knelt on Horatio's other side and immediately started taking the unmoving man's vitals. After making sure his patient was showing a steady pulse and breathing properly, the medic removed Horatio's sunglasses and handed them to Tripp. Next, he lifted the eyelids one by one, shining into the eyes with a penlight to check the pupils.

"How is he?" Calleigh had no patience and needed to hear something.

"His pulse is strong, he's breathing on his own. His pupils are responding properly..." the medic answered, meanwhile signaling for his colleagues to bring the stretcher. His hand indicated at the head wound. "When did this happen?"

"About an hour or two ago," Calleigh guessed then glanced at Tim.

Speed nodded, confirming the passage of time. "He was knocked on the head with the butt of a gun and slammed into the pole of a desk. He was unconscious for about fifteen minutes, woke up retching, but seemed all right otherwise."

"We'll check him out back at the hospital," the medic explained. "We'll get that wound cleaned up and sutured... He's concussed. Has he been moving around too much?"

"He dove behind a shield with me, dragging me away from the bomb that was in the lab," Calleigh quickly informed the medic.

"Hmm, that would explain his collapse," said the medic. "Abrupt movements with a concussion are usually the cause of that."

"So he's going to be fine?" Captain Jackson joined in.

"I think so, sir," nodded the medic, then made room for the personnel approaching with the stretcher. "We'll run some tests to make sure, though."

After Horatio was lifted onto a stretcher, Calleigh climbed back to her feet. She stared at gurney that was being rolled towards a nearby ambulance, then looked back at her Captain. "Sir, permission to..."

"Granted," Jackson interrupted her with a brief wave of his hand. "Go with him and make sure he stays put until he's being released."

"Thanks!" Calleigh called over her shoulder, already rushing. She followed the medics to the waiting ambulance, and ran into a concerned looking Alexx.

"What happened?" the ME asked, as she shifted her gaze from the stretcher to her female colleague.

"He said he was fine, but then he suddenly collapsed," Calleigh explained, while she kept her eyes on the medics that were carefully loading the gurney inside the ambulance. "They said abrupt movements combined with a concussion would be the cause of that and they are going to check him out at the hospital. How's Eric?"

"Eric's going to be fine. Are you going with them?" Alexx asked, pointing at the ambulance. Taking in Calleigh's nod, she continued. "I'll collect the others and as soon as we're finished here we'll be there, all right?"

"Okay, see you later!" Calleigh greeted her friend, then quickly ran to the ambulance, jumped in the back just before they were about to close the doors.

She found a small spot to sit and was able to grab Horatio's hand. Absentmindedly, her thumb caressed the back of his hand while she watched how the medic cleaned the head wound. From where she was sitting, Calleigh thought it looked deeper than it had before and she hoped he was going to be okay.

The ride to the hospital didn't take long. Horatio hadn't stirred at all during the trip, and Calleigh could do nothing but stare after him while he was being taken away as soon as they got out of the ambulance. A nurse guided her to the waiting room, and told her somebody was coming to inform her about her boss's condition as soon as they knew more.

Sighing, she looked around. The waiting room looked pretty familiar and she recalled having waited for several hours the last time Horatio had been brought in. Although it was already two months ago, it seemed more like last week to her. The fear for him, that he wasn't going to make it, it was all fresh in her mind.

This time was different, she firmly told herself. He'd be all right. Just a few stitches, a headache, but nothing too serious. He'd said so himself, hadn't he?

Walking over to the cabinet, she took a plastic mug from the dispatcher and filled it with coffee before finding a seat at the table.

----

Horatio Caine woke up in confusion. He was lying in a bed, but couldn't remember how he'd gotten there. The last thing he recalled was Calleigh and him reaching the others on the parking lot outside MDPD head quarters.

It took him a while to open his eyes and focus. The world looked fuzzy at first, but after a while things got clearer and he knew he had to be in a hospital.

A silhouette approached the bed, and, his vision slowly improving, Horatio now recognized the man. It was Dr. Stevenson, the same doctor that had treated him last time he'd been injured.

"Lieutenant Caine," Dr. Stevenson's gentle voice greeted him. "I seem to recall letting you out of this hospital with the strict instructions of taking good care of yourself. Now this isn't what I meant by that."

Horatio smiled. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I didn't do it on purpose."

"I hope not," Stevenson grinned. "How are you feeling?"

Considering the question for a moment, Horatio lifted his hand and brought it to his head. Carefully, he touched the bandage that had been applied there while he was unconscious. "Apart from a headache I feel fine," he answered. "What happened?"

"From what I've been told, you collapsed," Dr. Stevenson explained. "Do you remember how you got that head wound in the first place?"

"Hmm, yes," Horatio said. "The perp in the lab knocked me out. He'd placed a bomb in the lab, under the chair of one of my CSI's. We had to dive behind a shield while the bomb technician cut the last wire."

"Good," Stevenson nodded in satisfaction. He'd already been given a brief summary on what had happened and the fact that his patient remembered everything confirmed his diagnosis. "You've got a nasty concussion. We ran some tests, and luckily there's no further damage. Well, besides the neat row of stitches behind your ear to close that cut, of course. Sudden movements when concussed are no winning combination, as you've found out, so try to keep still for a few days."

Horatio briefly looked at the IV running to his left hand. "Can I go home?" he asked.

"Well, I don't see why not," Stevenson answered. "But you do need somebody with you for the first twenty-four hours, as I'm recommending a waking up procedure of every two hours, just in case."

Horatio seemed to consider the idea for a brief moment.

"There's some people outside waiting to see you," Dr. Stevenson informed him. "One of your colleagues has already offered to stay with you, so I'll go and arrange your release. Please, lay back and rest a while longer until all is taken care of, all right?" With that, the doctor left the room, and shortly after, the door opened again. Alexx, Calleigh, Eric and Tim quietly stepped inside.

"H," Tim greeted his boss. "Hi, there," Calleigh joined in. Eric just nodded. He had his injured arm in a sling, but looked fine otherwise.

"Horatio," Alexx spoke up. "How are you doing?"

"I'm all right," Horatio answered her then shifted his attention to his injured CSI. "How about you, Eric?"

"I'm fine, H," Eric said. "They removed the bullet and said no permanent damage was done. They said I should be able to use my arm again in a few weeks."

"That's good," Horatio replied. He was about to get up, but Calleigh stepped forward, ready to push him back down.

"Oh no, you don't," she spoke firmly. "Stay down and rest. I already caught you once and I don't want to have to do that again today."

"Hmm," Horatio smiled. He carefully lay down again. "I guess I need to thank you then."

"You'll be going home with her, so you better listen to her, H," Speedle grinned. "Not to mention the fact that Chief Jackson has told her to keep you still."

"Now why would he do that?" Horatio had to ask.

"He probably knows you better than you think," Alexx teased. "Anyway, now that you're okay, I think we should get back to work."

"Yes, I need to process the scene," Tim remembered.

"I'll help, I'm okay," Eric added.

"Are you sure?" Tim asked with a frown.

"As long as you do the heavy lifting," nodded Eric.

"Let's see if you can find anything on the surveillance tapes, Speed," Horatio told his CSI. "It might give you some information on how Keith got that bomb into the lab. He's got to have had some help there."

"Frank was already onto that, H," Tim explained. "Relax."

"Let's also ask Sergeant Orrick for help in processing the remainders of that bomb, shall we?" Horatio continued, unable to let go. "I don't think Keith could have made that bomb all by himself. Then do a background check, all right? There's got to be a good reason why he wouldn't go to jail."

"Horatio," Calleigh interrupted him with a stern voice. "I'm sure the guys can handle it from here. Now why don't you give that stubborn head of yours some rest or I might just have to consider leaving you here overnight."

"Oops," Speedle coughed, his eyes betraying his amusement.

"She's right," Alexx said, and she started moving towards the door. "Come on, guys. Let's go."

"Now what about dinner?" Eric said, meanwhile following Alexx towards the door. "I thought Cal got to pick a restaurant for tonight?"

"I'll take a rain check," Calleigh answered. "Or you know what? You can all stop by at my place tonight, if you bring some pizza?"

"Good idea," Speed replied. "Take care, H. We'll catch you later."

Horatio lifted a parting hand and watched three of his team leaving before turning his attention to the blonde woman. "So, guess I'm stuck with you, huh?"

"Only if you behave, handsome," she teased.

"I always do, Calleigh," he responded, throwing her a faint smile. "Don't I?"

--------

Calleigh had been waiting for her colleagues to arrive at her house and opened the door before they had the chance to ring the doorbell. Pressing one finger at her lips she whispered, "Horatio's asleep."

Alexx, Tim and Eric silently stepped inside, took off their jackets and followed Calleigh to the kitchen where they all sat down at the table.

"How long has he been sleeping?" Alexx asked.

Checking her watch Calleigh answered. "One hour and forty-eight minutes. I've got to wake him up each two hours so I planned on letting him rest for another ten minutes or so."

"In that case, I'll call for pizza. It takes at least half an hour before they will deliver anyway," Tim decided. He got up, took out his cell phone and moved over to the window to make the call.

"What time did you get home?" Eric asked.

"About two hours ago. Horatio barely made it to the sofa before he fell asleep," Calleigh informed them. "I removed his shoes, pulled his feet up and covered him with a blanket and he never even noticed."

"The man was exhausted," Alexx concluded, then looked at Tim who'd rejoined them at the table. "I hope you didn't order too many pizzas. Horatio won't be eating much."

"I took that into account," Speed said. "Can I have a beer?"

"Sure you can," Calleigh nodded then she looked at Eric. "Hmmm, no alcohol for you, I'm afraid."

"Pepsi's fine," Eric responded.

"I'll have Pepsi as well," Alexx joined in. "Let me help you with that."

Together, the women collected the drinks and put them on a tray. Calleigh had also filled a glass with water from the tap and then took two pills from the bottle the doctor had given her. "All right," she announced. "I'll wake Horatio up now."

Carrying the tray over to the living room, she put it on the coffee table. Glancing sideways, she found Horatio still sleeping deeply, he hadn't moved at all. She'd rather have him rest for another few hours, but the doctor had explained to her that it was safer to wake him up after a certain period. With a sigh Calleigh knelt beside the couch, and softly called out to the sleeping man. "Horatio. Horatio, you need to wake up now."

Her words didn't seem to rouse him at all, so she placed her hand on his shoulder, shaking him a bit. "Horatio!" Raising her voice a little, she watched in satisfaction how his eyelids started to tremble slightly. "The guys are here, and there's pizza coming so you might want to wake up now."

Slowly, Horatio opened his eyes, then quickly closed them again with a grunt. Lifting an arm, he brought his hand to his face and covered his eyes before opening them again.

"Hi, there," Calleigh smiled at him, as soon as he shifted to throw her a faint smile.

"Hey," he responded, blinking his eyes a few times.

"Do you know who I am?" she asked, following the doctor's instructions. Each time she was waking him up, she needed to check if he was lucid.

"Now how can I forget you, Calleigh?" he asked. "What time is it?"

"Pizza time," she laughed. "The guys and Alexx are here already. Can you sit up?"

"Hmm," Horatio replied. "I think so." Slowly, he placed his feet on the ground then pushed himself up until he was sitting up straight. His hand reached for his head. "Whoa..."

"Dizzy?" Calleigh asked.

"A little," he admitted. Leaning with one elbow on his knee, Horatio rested his head in his hand and closed his eyes.

"You know, you don't need to be sitting up that straight," Calleigh offered. "Why don't you put your feet up and lean back, that might be more comfortable." She quickly rearranged the pillows in the corner of the arm- and backrest and watched how he repositioned himself. "There you go," she said, while grabbing the water and pills. "Now take these, they might help as well."

"Thank you," he said before swallowing the pills with some of the water.

"You're welcome." Calleigh headed towards the kitchen and invited her colleagues in to the living room. Eric and Tim greeted their boss then found themselves a chair to sit while Alexx couldn't help herself by checking Horatio out, she first grabbed his wrist to take his pulse, then checked how his pupils responded and finally nodded in satisfaction when he smiled at her and told her he was doing fine.

Meanwhile, the pizzas were delivered and Calleigh and Eric quickly handed out the plates.

Horatio waited a while, giving them the chance to eat. Then, his curiosity won. "So," he started, looking around at his team. "What did you find today?"

"Everything we were looking for, H," Tim answered, smiling widely.

Eric finished his bite from his last pepperoni pizza slice then glanced at the man on the couch. "Keith Reynolds isn't really Keith Reynolds. His real name is Keith Cunningham."

"Interesting," Horatio commented.

"How did you figure that out?" Calleigh wanted to know.

"His fingerprints. Remember we only came up with two years of history through AFIS? We were planning to ask him about that when we'd brought him in for questioning, but we didn't get the chance. Anyway, we dug a little further and came up with his real name." Speed sipped from his beer then placed the bottle back on the table. "Old Keith was convicted for the murder of three hotel guests at the Grande Plaza, seven years ago. He was just out on parole."

"Hmmm, looks like he's going back real fast," Horatio guessed. He stared at the slice of Margarita on the plate Alexx had handed him but the thought of food alone made him nauseous.

"Keith wasn't treated very well in prison. Apparently he'd become the one the bigger guys picked on, so he wasn't too keen on going back," Eric filled in.

"Why, shouldn't he have thought about that earlier?" Calleigh rolled her eyes.

"He should have thought about that," Horatio agreed. "But what crime did he commit? Could you tie him to the murder at Castillo del Mar?"

"Yes," Tim said, then shook his head. "And no."

"Meaning?" Horatio demanded, feeling too tired to try to figure it out by himself.

"Meaning he was on the scene all right," Eric explained, "but we're pretty sure he didn't kill those people."

"Then who did?" Calleigh wondered, her eyes wide with surprise.

"That would be Ralph Cunningham," Speed said. He'd finished his slices and placed the empty plate on the table.

"Cunningham? As in?" Calleigh asked. Concentrating on the case, the blonde woman completely forgot to eat her last slice of pizza.

"As in Keith's little brother," Eric said with a smile. He indicated at her plate. "Don't let it get cold, Cal."

"Ralph Cunningham? Ralph Cunningham? Where have I heard that name before?" Horatio wondered.

"He worked as a desk clerk at MDPD," Alexx now joined in. "Tripp found out about his involvement and Adele already picked him up this morning."

"Ah," Horatio's face lit up. "I knew I knew him from somewhere. So Keith was protecting his little brother and Ralph helped him smuggling in the bomb into the lab."

"Yes," Eric nodded. "Keith planned to drive off with Alexx and me, heading towards Bal Harbour. A ship was already waiting to take him all the way to Mexico."

"So Keith actually planted his own prints at the hotel?" Calleigh wondered. "He wanted to take the blame and run like hell?"

"That was the plan," Tim acknowledged. "All to keep his brother from going to jail."

"Maybe... Maybe they will be placed in the same cell block. Then they can both discuss what was wrong with that plan," Horatio concluded. "Nice going."

Eric and Speed both smiled.

Alexx started gathering the empty plates, then looked at the filled one on Horatio's lap. "Guess you aren't really hungry, are you?"

Horatio gave her a faint smile. "No, sorry."

She took the plate away from him. "That's okay. I'm sure your appetite will be back tomorrow." She carried the plates to the kitchen. Upon returning, she turned to the others. "Thanks for the pizza and the company, guys. I've got to get going. My kids are waiting."

"Yeah, I think I'll be heading home as well," Eric said.

"And I'm your driver," Speed responded, while getting up. "Take care, H. See ya, Cal."

After saying their goodbyes, Calleigh walked her company to the door and let them out. Next she gathered the empty glasses and bottles and brought them to the kitchen. When she got back, she sat down and smiled at Horatio. "So... now it's just us."

"Just us," Horatio repeated. "I'm sorry to be a bother, Calleigh."

"Oh, nonsense. You're never a bother, Horatio."

"You sure you don't mind?" he had to know for sure.

"Of course not, silly," she laughed. "Sometimes you just need somebody to look after you and I'm glad I can help out."

"Just like old times, huh?"

"Yeah, about that," Calleigh remarked. "You know, next time you want to come and spend some time with me, you don't have to get knocked out first... All you have to do is ask."

"All I have to do is ask," Horatio repeated softly. "I'll keep that in mind, Calleigh. I'll keep that in mind."

THE END

**A/N's: that was it, folks. Sorry to have kept you waiting for all this time, but I was on a vacation. Now while you've reached this point, why don't you drop me a note and let me know what you think? Thanks for reading. Corine.**


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